NAB tightens noose around Ahad Cheema, obtains important record

• NAB says ‘will continue performing duties in accordance with law’

• Says its first and last affiliation is with ‘the people of Pakistan and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’

• Bismillah Engineering Company chief executive arrested by NAB on Ahad Cheema’s identification

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday obtained an important record of former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general Ahad Cheema in the Ashiana Housing Scheme scandal, further tightening the noose around the important bureaucrat of Punjab.

According to reports, details regarding mobile phone calls and emails have also been taken into custody while the bureau has also sought expert assistance to recover the deleted data.

Due to dire security concerns after Cheema’s arrest, Rangers were deployed outside the NAB Lahore office on Saturday. The Rangers reviewed the security of the building in Thokar Niaz Beg and also examined security points. After reviewing the area, the Rangers took control outside the NAB office and additional Rangers are also expected to be deployed for further security.

Later in the day, NAB in a statement said that it would continue performing its duties in accordance with the law by upholding transparency and merit despite adverse circumstances.

Threats, protests and browbeating could not stop NAB from performing its legal obligations, the statement read and added that Cheema was apprehended as per law on the basis of solid evidence against him. A complete report of the circumstances would be presented after the expiry of remand in the accountability court.

“Despite various accusations, NAB would not reply the critics as the matter is sub judice, however, NAB assures that it will continue to work without any discrimination,” it stated further.

“NAB is an apolitical institution having no affiliation with any political party or group. The first and last affiliation of NAB is with the people of Pakistan and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The deployment of Rangers in NAB Lahore is essential for protection and security of Ahad Cheema and relevant record,” the statement concluded.

Earlier, the bureau on Saturday arrested Shahid Shafiq, the chief executive of Bismillah Engineering Company, over corruption allegations after Ahad Cheema identified him. The company was given a contract of Rs12 billion despite being in the C-4 category.

It may be mentioned that Cheema was arrested by NAB from the MM Alam Road in Lahore over corruption allegations regarding taking 32 kanals of land in bribe. He had not appeared before the NAB despite several summons.

Afterwards, opposition leaders had staged a symbolic walkout in the Punjab Assembly, asking why Cheema was given the promotion to BS-20, which had come following the Punjab government’s protest against what they said was an “unlawful arrest”.

On the other hand, DMG officers during a meeting with Chief Minister of Punjab (CM) Shehbaz Sharif, demanded to release Cheema, saying that if the arrest is necessary then he should be nabbed in a proper way. The Punjab bureaucracy on Friday also submitted a charter of demands to the Punjab government on demanding the formation of a judicial-like tribunal for their constitutional protection.

In their charter, they also demanded that probe against any civil servants should be conducted through a special tribunal comprising senior bureaucrats on the orders of the chief secretary and after the special tribunal completes its investigation, the case of the civil servants should be sent to the NAB or other trial institutions.

The bureaucrats also observed a complete lockdown of offices at the Punjab Secretariat in protest of the arrest. The offices remain closed on Friday till members of opposition in the Punjab Assembly forcefully got the doors unlocked.

Shaken over the arrest, the Punjab cabinet on Friday also expressed deep concern over the arrest. A meeting of the cabinet agreed that the arrest was “unwarranted and illegal” and the NAB had illegally used its powers in this regard.

The cabinet members said that they strongly condemned such steps and were standing with the officers who were being targeted. The cabinet said that first an enquiry is held in such cases and the process of investigation and reference is filed upon its findings later on. Afterwards, charges are framed by the accountability court. They said it was regrettable that Cheema was arrested during the first phase of the case.

The cabinet labeling the arrest “discriminatory and partial treatment” decided that the Punjab government would immediately approach the federal government on the issue.

All the feather ruffling in the Punjab cabinet as well as bureaucracy had come after the accountability court earlier had handed over Cheema to NAB on an 11-day physical remand for further probe.